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Topic: How far do you live from your office? (Read 30441 times)

About 13 miles, and I drive. Takes about 25-30 minutes. I'd ride my bike, but I have a compressed work schedule, and adding an extra 1-1.5hrs to my commute each day by choosing to bike just isn't worth it at this juncture.

Since we relocated our office, my commute is now 6km each way (about 3.7 miles).

When the weather is decent and I don't have to dress up for work, I try to bike it -- takes 30-40 minutes door to door, depending on how I hit the lights. Now that I have paid for my bike/lock, cost is free, assuming my bike doesn't get stolen again. Less chance of that now that I don't park at the subway station.

If I take the bus, it takes 40-50 minutes depending on traffic. 15 minutes to walk to the bus stop, 15-20 minutes on the bus, depending on when it arrives and traffic on the way, and 10 minutes to walk to the office on the other end. Costs about $.07/trip.

They just opened a new subway line near our house, but haven't had a chance to try it yet (just got back last night). I estimate it will take me about 15 minutes to walk to the subway, 10-15 minutes on the subway ( only 3-4 stops, but I have to change lines once, which adds to the time), and 5 minutes to walk to the office from the subway stop. So roughly the same amount of time as biking. It will cost about $.50/trip.

Other option, which I do sometimes when weather is bad or I have to get there early for a meeting is to take a taxi. That takes between 15-30 minutes, depending on traffic and costs between $3.50 and $6.50. Will likely use that option only rarely now that I have the subway alternative.

This commute is MASSIVELY better than my old one, which was cross-town 18km in horrible traffic.

So I was fortunate to get a new job recently that reduced my commute from 30 miles and 45 minutes to 3 miles and 5-10 minutes. I'm over the moon about this (almost irrationally so according to friends and family). I'll be able to run or bike to work in the morning when things warm up (there's a gym with showers here, too), so I'm ecstatic.

How far do the rest of you Mustachians live from work? Do you drive or run/bike?

Around 1.2 miles by driving, but I take the train to work. 10-15 minute ride (frequent stops), but I love it.

I don't know how I'll be able to go back to driving and commuting some day.

Currently 6 miles from work. We bought this house because it was about a mile from my office and I could walk or bike to work, but then they moved me to another location that is 6 miles away and those six miles are over dangerous streets or the highway. So no more biking. I got a substantial raise, which about paid for the car I had to buy. :(

I live in south London and I'm about 9 miles from my job in central London. I get the train and my work pays for my yearly pass thank goodness! It takes me about 50 minutes door to door as I like to get to the station early in case there are cancellations and I have to make alternative plans...

20 miles, in the morning I'll go with bike+train combo (loading the bike on the train) in the evening I'll bike back. It takes about 55 minutes each way but I don't mind because on the train I can read/surf and in the evening it does count as physical activity.

30.5 miles each way, 35 minutes most days, less than a gallon of gas a day in my prius. I wouldn't trade where I live for a spot closer to town-- the hills around my home are beautiful and the only traffic jams I regularly hit are the ones caused by the elk herd crossing the road.

starting tomorrow .3 miles. So gosh darn excited. Previously it was 2.2 miles. Because I start work early and the office was in a not so great neighborhood I took the bus with was 45 minutes to a half hour each way (depending on timing) now it will be a 10 minute walk :) (Which means I get to drop my bus pass.)

Corporate office is 838 miles. My office is just downstairs. Husband has to drive when he is out in his territory, but his office is upstairs. I always find myself elbowing him for space on the kitchen island.

6 miles. I drive. If it was flatter, I'd bike, but there are a lot of little hills and two large ones that would mean I would never make it to work in a reasonable amount of time. I don't want to leave my house at 5:30 a.m. for a 7:00 shift.

Once it gets warmer I'm going to start trying to do the bike ride on weekends and see if I can get it down to 45 minutes, then I might consider biking on nice days.

6 miles. I drive. If it was flatter, I'd bike, but there are a lot of little hills and two large ones that would mean I would never make it to work in a reasonable amount of time. I don't want to leave my house at 5 a.m. for a 7:00 shift.

Sounds kind of complainy-pants to me. You will get used to hills. Hills are awesome at making you use more muscles. In good bike shape, you can do 6 mile of hills in 20-25 minutes.

In the evenings, I take the bus to the end of the line, and then I either walk home (in the summer - 2.5 km) or husband picks me up. I actually enjoy the walk, but it is a dark country road with no shoulder and no lights, so in the winter, I'm not comfortable with the risk of slipping and falling in front of an oncoming car. Husband leaves work earlier to pick kids up before daycares close.

6 miles. I drive. If it was flatter, I'd bike, but there are a lot of little hills and two large ones that would mean I would never make it to work in a reasonable amount of time. I don't want to leave my house at 5 a.m. for a 7:00 shift.

Sounds kind of complainy-pants to me. You will get used to hills. Hills are awesome at making you use more muscles. In good bike shape, you can do 6 mile of hills in 20-25 minutes.

I'm not complaining about anything, because I'm not trying to reduce my spending or my car reliance. I'm perfectly happy with my commute, which is greatly improved from the job I had last year (which was about a 15 minute drive + 30 minute walk).

Not everyone is in good bike shape, so your estimate doesn't really apply to me. My husband (who does bike to work in the summer) could easily do that in that time, me, not so much. And going down hills is terrifying to me, so it is something I'm going to have to work up to, to even consider going that route. It took me about an hour the last time I went, and that was working hard. If I was biking to work, I'd have to take a relaxed approach so I don't arrive a sweaty mess, so it would take even longer. Besides which, I don't like biking more than 13 mph in any condition, I feel too out of control on the bike. I have a pretty extensive injury history which fuels fear for me.

Maybe someday I'll bike, but I have no problem with the 10 minutes of driving (15 in traffic, which I avoid by going in the early morning).

Not everyone is in good bike shape, so your estimate doesn't really apply to me. My husband (who does bike to work in the summer) could easily do that in that time, me, not so much. And going down hills is terrifying to me, so it is something I'm going to have to work up to, to even consider going that route. It took me about an hour the last time I went, and that was working hard. If I was biking to work, I'd have to take a relaxed approach so I don't arrive a sweaty mess, so it would take even longer. Besides which, I don't like biking more than 13 mph in any condition, I feel too out of control on the bike. I have a pretty extensive injury history which fuels fear for me.

Maybe someday I'll bike, but I have no problem with the 10 minutes of driving (15 in traffic, which I avoid by going in the early morning).

So that is all the MORE reason to do it. You SHOULD be in good bike shape. What is the point of retiring at 35 if you are overweight and have to go on 24 medicines to stay alive?

You will get used to going faster then 13mph. You may need a real road bike and not a granny style hybrid, but that is easy to accomplish. My casual pedaling easy pace is 18mph, and my race pace (on flats) is closer to 21-23mph...

Sure biking is a CHANCE to be injured. But not exercising is a guaranteed slow and painful death. Our brains teach us to avoid the chance of something bad, while accepting the certainty of something bad 5-10 years down the road. Fight your brain and come alive!

So that is all the MORE reason to do it. You SHOULD be in good bike shape. What is the point of retiring at 35 if you are overweight and have to go on 24 medicines to stay alive?

You will get used to going faster then 13mph. You may need a real road bike and not a granny style hybrid, but that is easy to accomplish. My casual pedaling easy pace is 18mph, and my race pace (on flats) is closer to 21-23mph...

Sure biking is a CHANCE to be injured. But not exercising is a guaranteed slow and painful death. Our brains teach us to avoid the chance of something bad, while accepting the certainty of something bad 5-10 years down the road. Fight your brain and come alive!

I'm not overweight, and I don't take any meds. I do exercise regularly when I can, which depends on how injuries are doing in a particular time varies. I spent most of last year incapable of exercise due to the effects of a broken neck (not the same injury I posted about in a different thread), so right now I'm not in great shape. But even when I am, biking is just not something I enjoy.

I have no interest in going over 13 mph. I had a nice road bike (purchased by my husband who enjoys biking and bike racing) and sold it FOR a hybrid because it is useless for someone who isn't racing and I wanted something more comfortable.

Just because YOU think 18 mph is a reasonable comfortable pace, doesn't mean I do. It is much too fast for me to feel comfortable. I have no problem biking to a restaurant or a grocery store, but right now, work isn't going to happen. Like I said- I plan to work on it, but it isn't something I value highly. I changed jobs to get to under 45 minutes in total travel time (that was driving + walking) to and from work; I'm not sure I really want to go back to that- even if I biked quickly, I'd still be getting close to it.

What the hell does any of this have to do with the length of a commute? As I said in the original post before people decided to critique me, mine's 6 miles, I don't bike, but think I might like to on nice days, however, that mode of transportation is currently out of reach for me.

I don't think I'm going to die 20 years early just because I don't bike to work. Heck, since MOST americans don't bike to work, the average age probably takes that into account anyway. So, are you saying I should expect to live to 98 if I bike? I think the average age of 78 is just fine. Due to my neck issues, I'm guessing my quality of life isn't going to be great at that point anyway, and there is nothing biking can do about that. Heck, every year I lived past 17 was a bonus, since easily could have died then.

Not biking to work isn't going to guarantee I need some sort of chronic meds. This is just a ridiculous argument.

I can (and do when possible) use the time saved by not biking to work out in a form I enjoy. Why waste time biking if I don't enjoy it at all? If my commute is shorter, I can then go to the pool after work to swim, lift weights, row (in the summer), cross country ski (in the winter), or do a cardio workout tape that is fun.

I'm HAPPY I recovered an hour a day by shortening my commute from my previous job. Most of the time I use that time to workout, sometimes I use it for other things, but now I get to use it as I see fit, rather than have to use it getting to and from work.

Maybe on nice days I'd enjoy biking to work, but it isn't a priority to me. That it is out of reach right now doesn't mean I complained about anything. Did you not see the part that said when the weather gets nicer I was thinking about practicing the route on weekends? How is that complainy/defeatist? I'm opening an avenue where maybe I could bike, on days I feel like it adds value to my day. My car commute is 10 minutes. That is nothing that needs to be "fixed".

9 miles from my office, but I have not been to the office in over 6 months. As a consultant I am typically working at the client-site, meaning my commute varies considerably during the year. Everything else we do is within 1-2 miles of our house.

I'm 5.8 miles with great bike paths all the way there. Just about a mile or so on side streets getting to and from the paths. It's great! In the 4+ months I've been at this job, I've ridden the bus <5 times and gotten a ride maybe 10-15 times due to sub-zero temps.

Sounds kind of complainy-pants to me. You will get used to hills. Hills are awesome at making you use more muscles. In good bike shape, you can do 6 mile of hills in 20-25 minutes.

Give me a break. I'm in great biking shape (biked well over 2,000 miles last year), and my 5.8 miles with one minor hill takes maybe as little as 25 minutes on a clear day with the wind at my back. Nobody wants to be hauling ass for 6 miles up hill to show up to work completely drenched in sweat. MMM himself advocates for a reasonable biking pace. My fastest bike is an 80s steel road bike, but it's not all that Mustachian to buy a fancy new bike just so you can go a little faster and work a little less, right?

Until all the "work from home" folks get to the thread, I'm going to claim shortest commute that's actually not working from home:

Less than one mile (.7) if I walk, a bit longer if it's -20 F and I drive (divided highway with stoplight for pedestrians but I have to go a couple blocks out of my way if I drive to get to a car stoplight).

Sorry, we're tied! :-) I live .7 miles from work, and I don't own a car. Walk all day every day, even in the cold and snowy winter. I'll be leaving for work shortly, and it's 11 degrees F outside. Coworkers think I'm crazy, but it's wonderful.